Christina Phillips has been on an incredible journey, going from over 600 pounds to well
under 200 pounds. This transformation has allowed her to do some incredible things,
including an activity she and her fans never would have expected.
Since 2012, "My 600-lb Life" has been chronicling morbidly obese individuals who
are desperate to shed weight and get their lives back on track. In 2014, Mississippi
native Christina Phillips got her chance to undergo gastric bypass surgery with Dr. Now.
At age 22, Phillips weighed well over 600 pounds. When her story began,
she admitted that walking from room to room in her home left her out of breath.
"I'm trapped inside this body that I don't want to be in."
Phillips added that she didn't leave the house — and hadn't done so for two whole years.
So what happened? The reality star had long battled with her weight. But as an adult,
her mom and her husband, Zach, enabled her to overeat, often buying her fast food meals.
Like other patients featured on "My 600-lb Life," Christina Phillips sought the help of Dr. Now,
who advised her she had to lose weight before he would consider her a candidate for potentially
life-saving gastric bypass surgery. She went on to drop over 250 pounds, though it was far from easy.
At that time, the determined TLC star had the procedure and went on to shed an incredible
500 pounds, ending her journey at 185 pounds. Her episode marks what
many fans would consider one of the most successful stories they've seen on the show.
But don't think everything has been perfect for her since her season aired in 2014.
Instead, as fans would learn on an update special just two years later,
a lot of challenges had come her way since they last caught up with Phillips.
When fans got an update on Christina Phillips in a 2015 "Where Are They Now?" special,
they learned that although she was successful in keeping the weight off,
the reality star was now coping with a host of other challenges.
Perhaps most crushing was her continued struggle
with anxiety over gaining weight back. She confessed,
"Lately any time I see the scale go up, I
tend to freak out and I will stop eating for a couple days."
She went on to explain that although she doesn't weigh 700 pounds any longer,
in her mind, she still feels that way.
Luckily, Phillips was advised to seek therapy to help with her mental health.
She also went on to get skin removal surgery. But there were
other big changes ahead for the star following her dramatic weight loss.
As it turns out, Phillips' husband Zach was not supportive of her transformation,
so they got a divorce. The newly-single star told fans on "Where Are They Now?":
"It became clear that me becoming independent was not going to work for him."
She even went so far as to call her former relationship "abusive."
The good news is that the star had better days ahead.
Just a year after updating viewers about her struggles with mental health and her marriage,
Phillips was back with a new, very positive outlook on life. A far cry from being housebound,
the reality star told People in 2017 that she had her life back. As she explained to the outlet,
"I'm able to do so much more now. It's pretty great. Before I couldn't walk eight feet without
feeling like I was gonna die. Now, I could do just about anything I put my mind to."
The star went on to share that she was so much happier than when fans first met her on "My
600-lb Life." Phillips added that each morning she thanks God for her "second chance at life."
She is now able to do things she never thought possible, including running for fun and realizing
a dream that at one point was totally out of her reach: Participating in 5k races. But there's
another life goal that Christina Phillips has been able to realize, and that's expanding her family.
At one point, the star was too overweight to carry a healthy pregnancy. Happily, in 2021,
Phillips welcomed a son named Ethan. Then, updating her fans via Facebook in June of 2022,
the star had more news to share. She would be expecting her second child — another boy — in
September, much to the glee of folks who have followed her journey all these years.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit
the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at
1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).